Picture Book
by Simply Red

Picture Book by Simply Red
Year: 1985
Release date: 1985-10-11
Overall rank: 3,521st   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 144 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1985 (44th)
Award Top albums of of the 1980s (524th)
Award Best albums of all time (3,521st)

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Product Details
Availability

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eBay
Simply Red Picture Book (CD, 1985)
Condition: Very Good


eBay
eBay
Simply Red Picture Book LP 1985 Elektra Holding Back The Years Vinyl
Condition: Used


eBay
eBay
Simply Red - Picture Book - Vinyl - 1985
Condition: Used


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Simply Red bestography

Picture Book is ranked as the best album by Simply Red.

Simply Red album bestography « Higher ranked
-
This album (3,521st)
Picture Book
Lower ranked (4,769th) »
Stars

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Picture Book track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Picture Book rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 3,521st | 1980s rank: 524th | 1985 rank: 44th

Picture Book collection

Picture Book ratings

Average Rating: 
73/100 (from 144 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 144 ratings for this album.

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RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
65/100
 !
06/19/2026 08:07 jeremy9  Ratings distribution  3,73870/100
 
65/100
 !
05/11/2026 15:39 Jakor  Ratings distribution  5,43470/100
 
60/100
 !
04/15/2026 10:18 LammyTS1  Ratings distribution  1,06659/100
 
85/100
 !
12/17/2025 15:40 Leginlists  Ratings distribution  3,63582/100
 
15/100
 !
11/12/2025 23:32 NYAndreas  Ratings distribution  1,43344/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album is rated in the top 25% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 73.4/100, a mean average of 70.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 73.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 18.3.

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Picture Book favourites

Showing all 15 members who have added this album as a favourite

Picture Book comments

Showing all 9 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
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Rating:  
75/100
From 09/24/2025 19:48 | #311047 | TOP COMMENT
This is one of those purchases because of radio time from the song "Holding Back The Years". Mick Hucknall has that soul sound voice and is a good songwriter. There are a couple songs that I like that I think most people find average, that is "Come To My Aid" and "Jericho".
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 09/08/2024 12:47 | #305181
My favorite band of all time. Impeccable style made of pop, soul and funk
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 03/12/2019 20:43 | #233428 | TOP COMMENT
I think that this album is often overshadowed by Stars which is another excellent album. Simply Red isn't all about Mick Hucknall, yes he is a great vocalist and frontman but this band is made up of some great musicians too. This album mixes many styles incorporating jazz, rock, mood music to name but a few. 'Picture Book' is a personal favourite with almost prog like leanings.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 11/24/2018 11:41 | #225589 | TOP COMMENT
Some good tracks (1, 2 and 6), some filler and one of the best songs ever written.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/21/2018 19:12 | #206217
Actually a pretty nice choice for late night listening.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 07/03/2016 16:22 | #170416
My favorite songs : Jericho....Holding back the years....Sad old red.....Picture book ....Heaven
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 08/05/2015 20:59 | #147172 | TOP COMMENT
They would be a forgettable pop soul band but for Hucknall's singing and he was never better than he was here. This is a consistent collection with the standout "Holding Back the Years," which makes my list of best songs ever written.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
15/100
From 04/25/2014 22:23 | #110083
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Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -6 votes (0 helpful | 6 unhelpful)
From 06/24/2012 13:29 | #45277 | TOP COMMENT
Holding is a justifiable classic and is the song that got this band famous. But its on tracks such as Picture book that shows Hucknall's talent - the man can flat out sing.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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